Imagined futures of same-sex couples
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Date
06/07/2020Author
Jandrić, Dora
Metadata
Abstract
This research explores how older same-sex couples in Scotland imagine their future.
While there is a growing number of sociological studies looking at lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) ageing, these mostly focus on the
intersection of age and sexual identity, often leaving out the impact of the past and
present lived experiences on the ageing process. Sociological studies of time, and,
more specifically, of the future, often exclude older populations due to assumptions
that older people belong to a non-futurity (Sandberg 2015) because they are closer to
the end of their lives. Similarly, studies on sexuality tend to explore younger people’s
experiences, invoking the idea of the asexual older age. By drawing on Adam and
Groves’ (2007) theory of imagined futures, Mead’s (1934) work on the role of time in
constructing identities, and May’s (2013) idea that the self and society are relational,
this research argues for the exploration of older age and the future as mutually
constructive. To that end, the thesis asks the following question: How do older same
sex couples navigate the intersections of sexuality and ageing in imagining their
futures? In answering this question, the research addresses the future needs, hopes,
concerns, and fears of older same-sex couples in Scotland, and explores how the lived
experiences of the participants’ past and present figure in the imagination of their
futures.
Drawing on fourteen semi-structured joint interviews with seven same-sex couples in
Scotland, and on written accounts the couples produced between the interviews, the
research explores the construction of the couples’ past, present and future lived
experiences. The interviews and written accounts highlight the role of the past and present in the couples’ imagination of the future, which is conceptualised through
collective, interpersonal and imagined relationships. The findings also show that not
only do these couples think about the future, but they also actively participate in its
formation, through political activism and public engagement, imagining the future of
Scotland as utopian. Based on these findings, the research argues for a closer
examination of the relational aspect of personal biographies and the socio-historical
contexts of people’s lives in studies about the experience of ageing in same-sex
couples.
By exploring the lives of older same-sex couples, and by presenting their stories and
sharing their hopes, fears, and imaginations of the future with a wider audience, this
research gives a voice to a (still) invisible population in ageing and sexuality studies.
From an empirical perspective, the research investigates the lived experiences of older
same-sex couples in Scotland within the socio-political contexts of their youth, middle,
and older age, and explores the couples’ joint constructions of their futures.
Methodologically, the study contributes to the utilisation of semi-structured joint
interviews in conducting qualitative research and exploring couple relationships. The
thesis argues for a reconceptualization of the argument that older people have no future
agency by focusing on the narratives the participants shared about their imagined
short- and long-term futures. Finally, the thesis presents the idea that the interpersonal,
collective and imagined relationships the participants formed during their lifetimes
allowed them to imagine the future as utopian, constructing their imagination from
specific cultural and historical events.